The Fifth Element
by Akane Konae
Summary: One kunoichi has a dream. Like everyone else, she wants to become the greatest ninja she can be, but no matter how many times she tries, she can’t pass the Chunin Exam, even with higher scores. Who doesn’t want her to succeed? [Pairings subject to change]


Summary: All people have a dream, especially one kunoichi. Like everyone else, she wants to become the greatest ninja she can be, but no matter how many times she tries, she can't pass the Chunin Exam, even with higher scores. Who doesn't want her to succeed? KakashiOC

A/N: Well, I'm just going out on a limb here with this story. So, if it's not that great…eh. I'll revise it later.

_**

* * *

**_

The Fifth Element

Chapter 1: Start Over? Again?

Konae Akane waited patiently outside of the 3rd Hokage's office. Shifting her feet, she watched one by one as the low-rank shinobi, or genin walked into the room beyond the shoji door. They would hear their name and slowly stand up from their seats. Their friends would praise them and tell them "Good luck!" or "You'll pass, easy!" With a nervous smile, they went in. For as short as five minutes to as long as an hour they would remain in the room with the lord of Konohagakure, the Hokage, and learn their fate as ninja.

Some came out with the biggest grins and a slip of paper, telling them that their efforts in the Chunin exam had not been for naught. They would proceed to brag to their friends, showing them the proof of their new rank and to all who crowded around. The others, however, slowly meandered out of the office with their heads hung in shame. Some even refused to speak or eat, giving an unreasonable rationalization to themselves that the only choice for them now would be to end their life and thus their misery. Seldom actually went through with the suicidal plot.

Once again, Akane shifted in her chair to a more comfortable position, nervously tapping her foot on the wooden floor.

"Damn it, how much longer is this going to take?" Akane muttered under her breath. Every time another person came from the Hokage's room, she would fill with prayer that the exam proctor would call her name next. But that, unfortunately, was denied her until she was one of the last ten left.

"Konae Akane." The proctor, Anko-sensei, finally called her name from her list.

"It's about time," Akane whined and shot from her chair. "I just know I'm gonna make it!"

Akane reached the translucent shoji door. With a confident hand, she slid the door open, though quietly as she could. The inside room was virtually barren, consisting of nothing but the Hokage's desk in the middle of the room. Butterflies now claimed her stomach, and Akane swallowed hard. With slow steps, she walked silently across the room and took her seat in front of the Hokage's desk.

The elderly man did not look up from his papers for some time. Akane watched him as he idly glanced at the sheets, sometimes tossing them aside, sometimes just scanning over them and _then_ tossing them aside. Akane grew impatient and gave a loud cough to grab his attention.

"Yes, I know you are there, Akane," the Hokage replied without lifting his eyes off of his desk.

"Hokage-sama, I really want to get this over with. I was going to meet my friends later and have a party with them," Akane said.

The Hokage took a few moments to organize his papers into one neat pile on his desk. Then, with a heavy sigh he closed his eyes. Akane's hands began to perspire slightly, and she wiped them on her dark blue shinobi outfit.

The silence was broken after several more minutes. "Akane, did you enjoy partaking in the Chunin Exam this year?"

Akane frowned. "I didn't make it, did I?"

The Hokage looked surprised. "What makes you think that?"

"For the past seven years, you have always asked me that question, which leads up to you telling me I didn't pass the exam…again," Akane added with bitterness.

"Well, you are correct," the Hokage confirmed, "You didn't pass the Chunin Exam this year. What I don't understand is that you received particularly high scores, yet you still were held back…"

Akane's heart sank. She resisted the urge to throw something. Instead, she stood and bowed and started for the door.

"Akane, where are you going?" The Hokage asked.

"What's the point of staying if I know I didn't pass?" Akane asked.

"Actually, I have a proposition for you."

Akane cocked a confused eyebrow. "A proposition? What kind?"

"Teams of promising genin have recently graduated from the Academy."

"Ok…what's so special about that?"

"I would like to give you a chance to train with one of them. Squad 7, perhaps," the Hokage gave a warm smile.

"Why? What's the point? I would be starting back at square one if I joined some genin," Akane argued.

"Oh, no. I think their sensei would be a wonderful choice for you to help you train a bit more."

"And who might that be?"

"Kakashi Hatake," the Hokage stated.

Akane chocked on her spit. "W-what? Some kids actually passed his test?!" Akane remembered watching team after team of Genin trios attempt the same task of retrieving a pair bells from Kakashi's hands. No matter how skilled some may have seemed, each team had succeeded in failing. Kakashi had become famous in Konohagakure for not passing a single team of Genin ever since he had become jounin.

The Hokage smiled. "Yes; two promising boys and a young, intelligent kunoichi. I'm sure they won't be much of a nuisance in your training." He stood up and walked over to Akane. "I shall speak to him about this. I'm sure he will allow an additional member on his team."

"Ok, arigatou, Hokage-sama," Akane smiled. With one last bow, she proceeded to the door, but stopped again when a sudden thought occurred to her.

"Hokage-sama? What about the Chunin Exams?"

He blinked. "What about them?"

"Aren't only teams of three allowed to compete? If I join their team, they will be a team of four," Akane explained.

"Don't worry about that," the Hokage reassured her. "I'll see to it that you and your team will be allowed to partake in the exam."

Akane, though still doubtful, nodded and headed out the door.

"Hey, Akane, how'd it go?" Anko-sensei grinned. Akane slowly shook her head. Anko frowned. "Don't worry; you'll make it next time!" She tried her best to reassure Akane.

Akane grinned and thanked Anko. She couldn't ask for anything better…well, except maybe passing the friggin' Chunin Exams, of course.

She walked down the long hallway and outside into the open air. She needed to clear her mind and relax. But she just couldn't get what she wanted today for some reason.

"AKANE!!" A familiar voice cried, and before she knew it, Akane was tackled to the ground, the wind almost knocked out of her.

"Hello…to you, too…Sakana…" Akane gagged under the sudden weight thrown on her. "Now can you please get off of me? I would like to live for the next couple of years, you know."

The young Chunin kunoichi quickly removed herself from on top of her friend. Her midnight black hair was tied loosely in two braids in front of her. Her emerald green eyes fit nicely with her kunoichi outfit, which was a deep black with a green lining around her neck, arms, and legs that matched her eyes. She stood at an amazing five feet in height, barely brushing Akane's chin.

"Sorry, but you were supposed to move out of the way!" Sakana grinned and helped her friend to her feet.

"Akane, you are such a blonde," another fellow kunoichi, Hikaru, laughed as she made her way over to them. She had an unusual shade of blue for her long hair tied tight in the back, and even more stunning blue eyes to boot. Her outfit was very similar to the other girls, consisting of baggy black pants and a navy blue, short sleeve shirt.

"Are you blind? Does this look blonde to—" Akane showed her a lock of her hair and paused. Her hair was indeed blonde, though a darker shade that brought it very close to brown.

Sakana and Hikaru both fell to their knees, clutching their sides and laughing hysterically.

"…you," Akane mentally slapped herself silly. How can anyone not know what color their hair was? Of course, that goes only if they _had_ hair, but that didn't exactly apply here, did it?

"Ok, it's not that funny," Akane turned a pretty shade of pink, laughing sheepishly as people passed by, staring at them.

"Yes…it…is!" Hikaru chocked out through fits of laughter.

"How can you not know what color your hair is?! Especially when you have so much of it you could choke yourself with it!" Sakana remarked and laughed harder.

Akane sighed, and then joined her friends in a bit of the laughter.

"So, how's are newest Chunin kunoichi?" Sakana asked after she had gotten through her giggle fit.

Akane paused. How was she supposed to tell them she hadn't passed the exam?...again.

"I…didn't pass," Akane muttered.

"What?" The two girls chorused.

"You didn't pass again? But your scores were higher than a bunch of those other losers," Hikaru said, glaring at some of said Chunin who were passing by.

"Yeah, I know that. It's been like that for the past seven years."

"Why though?" Sakana asked. "Who would be desperate enough to go through all the trouble to keep you from passing?" Sakana looked thoughtful.

"Sakana, I wouldn't think too much into it. That look really doesn't suit you," Akane grinned.

"But seriously…why can't you pass the stupid test?" Hikaru asked.

"I don't know. But Hokage-sama assigned me to a new Genin team," Akane said.

"Really? Whose?" Sakana and Hikaru chorused.

"Kakashi's," Akane answered with a sigh.

Sakana and Hikaru stared at their friend, blinking confusedly.

"Kakashi? Kakashi Hatake?" Sakana repeated.

"Yeah, that's what he said," Akane answered.

With another moment's pause, the two friends roared with laughter.

"…I'm getting nowhere with these two," Akane voiced aloud. She let a heavy and obvious sigh of annoyance.

"Sorry, but it's just funny that you would get placed in _Kakashi's_ group of all the Genin trios," Hikaru grinned.

"Yeah, well, I have to go. I'm supposed to meet Kakashi tomorrow," Akane waved farewell to her friends.

"See ya tomorrow, Akane!" Hikaru waved back.

"Yeah, good luck! Don't die on us!" Sakana joked and burst into another fit of laughter.

Akane ignored their remarks, but smiled as she made her way through Konohagakure. She knew her friends meant well. Of the three, though, she was probably the calmest. Most of the time, anyways. And 'calm' to her friends wasn't exactly relaxing for hours reading a book, either.

Akane stood at the front door to her house ten minutes later. She hadn't even been aware of where her feet were leading her. On instinct she tried the handle, expecting it to be open. The cold metal remained still and stiff in her hand. Akane slapped her forehead. Of course it would be locked. She lifted the doormat and retrieved the hidden gold key from under it. She unlocked her door and let herself in.

Akane had been living on her own for the past two years since she was sixteen. When she had failed the chunin exams multiple times, her mother and father had been ridiculed and Akane had been made fun of, the center of attention whenever she walked down the street. On her sixteenth birthday, Akane kissed her parents goodbye and moved out on her own. Her parents insisted that she stay home, that they didn't care if she didn't pass the chunin exams; but Akane watched everyday as her parents went out of their way to work just to avoid the crowds and remarks. Though they came home with smiling faces, she could tell by the bags under their eyes and their demeanor that they suffered as much, if not more than she did everyday. So Akane made her choice, and now here she was.

Akane flipped the switch by the door. Her house wasn't exactly what anyone would call a "house". More like a two-room apartment. All she had was a couch, TV, and kitchenette in one room and in the other was her bedroom. Even in there she didn't have much: just a bed, a dresser, and some other little trinkets of hers from her parents' house. In a nut shell, she was poor.

Akane dragged herself into her bathroom (which connected to her bedroom) and relished in the hot water and steam. The pressured water massaged her muscles, causing a moan of pleasure to escape her lips.

Reluctantly, Akane left the paradise of her bath and dried off, putting on a night shirt and some baggy pants. With an exaggerated plop, Akane slipped underneath her bed covers, nestling her head into her pillow. Almost immediately, she fell asleep, a content smile on her face.

* * *

Well, here you have it. As I said, this is just an experiment. I could probably go over this right now and revise my mind outta this, but for now, I'm tired and just want to get your opinions to see if it would be worth my while. So, review!! .

Serena


End file.
